Rig Tricks - Kopycinski's Brain

As we meet and wheel with off-road enthusiasts, we come across people who use their vehicles for all kinds of off-highway fun. When we leave the comforts of city streets and venture into the dirt or go backcountry camping, we typically carry a fair bit of stuff in our rigs. Often, we have to be prepared to meet our needs in remote areas and carry spare parts, fluids, camping gear, and other essentials.

We always like to see how other off-roaders have improved their vehicles to provide greater comfort, ability, or self-sufficiency. This may mean adding capability or finding interesting means of carrying necessary items onboard. Here's a few rig tricks we've spotted recently that might be useful on your rig or inspire you to come up with your own ideas to equip your vehicle for off-road use.

Step By Step

When running trails for extended periods or using your vehicle for overnight camping, securing cargo can sometimes be difficult. Logistic track (also called simply L track or airline track) can be bolted onto the floor or walls inside a vehicle or in a truck bed. The aluminum tracks accept several components that lock in place in the slotted rails. Options include anchor point rings, ratchet tie-down straps, and stud/bolt mounts. The various attachment types can easily be moved around as needed, providing versatility for securing loads.

At JD Fabrication, we spotted this cool way of mounting a full-size shovel to a roof rack or other structure. The handle slips into a metal pocket and the spade is drilled to mate with a hood pin assembly, holding this shovel securely on this custom rig. This provides a very secure, rattle-free mounting method.

On-board air sources that are not easily portable or hard-mounted somewhere on the vehicle may benefit from one or more remote quick-connect outlets. These can be placed at points around the rig to allow for convenient hookup and use of the air supply. Just be sure they’re mounted where they’re not likely to be snapped off by off-road obstacles.

This interesting camping light setup is on Mike Marrero’s Nissan Frontier truck. A small LED light bar mounted just behind the cab provides a useful light source after dark. Mike added a telescoping pole that allows the light to be raised above the cab to disperse light farther in camp. It’s handy and quickly put to use when needed.